Which is what we have been the last few weeks! Soccer for Cade and Parker, trying to get 5 kids ready for and off to a new school year, deciding not to send 2 of them (Dawson and Emerson), a prenatal appointment and ultrasound, the usual stuff. Everyone is doing really well, especially our school-goers (including our newest, Macy, who loves PreK!)
B is for Birthdays.
And Belated, too! At long last, sharing a few pics from Parker and Emerson's joint Big 5 and Big 3, including the achieving of my sweetest goal for her - enjoying birthday cake (and she did, an entire big piece!!)
B is for Baby Steps.
Like the ones Holden started about a month ago, and quickly turned into full blown walking!! Like Macy, he's another early one and is already beginning the bumpy journey of learning to run and climb. It is so strange - but adorable - to see him toddling around the house with his older siblings. He is having a Blast! ^_^
B is for Backing Out.
Of decisions we took a lot of time to make. We were so excited to send Dawson and Emerson to the 3 hour morning pre-preK program at a local center dedicated to children with disabilities (but offering integrated classes!) but with Emerson never coming out of her last regression, her sleep at an all time low and the idea of her trying to stay awake all morning and engaged in an overstimulating, noisy environment... we called up our school district and said no thanks. Then, we found out Dawson had been put into a slightly older class (instead of an "early transition" class for 2 1/2 year olds, his only option in the morning was the 3-5 year old class) and after taking him for one day and spending the whole 3 hours with him, I was very disappointed - and a little shocked - by the reality of the class. Overbooked, tons of crying kiddos either very emotionally delayed and in their own little worlds or leaps and bounds older and further along developmentally than Dawson and huge safety issues for a 2 year old with DS. I basically served as his one-on-one aide all day, coming to his rescue on the playground when none of the teachers or aides would, and as a one-on-one aide wasn't part of his IEP as it wasn't seen as necessary given his moderate delays, another big discussion with Matt and a phone call to the school district to request we go back to in-home services. It was very stressful to switch gears so much but the program was not at all what we had envisioned for the little ones, so absolutely the right decision.
B is for Boys.
Our oldest two have had a very easy transition back to school - Parker started Kindergarten and it was just another day's adventure for him, no tears or worries and ready to go. So far things are going well and the boys love being able to ride the bus together and see each other at recess. They are pretty darn adorable standing at the end of our driveway, obscured by too-big backpacks, swaying from foot to foot and waiting impatiently. Cade has surprised and delighted us with how well he's already doing - his very first spelling test got him 9/10 correct and a new DVD for a reward! He still has moments of difficulty but overall it's clear to us that he's maturing and learning to cope with his challenges - so glad we stopped the medication!
B is for Beckett.
That's right, our ultrasound at 16 weeks to check on those darn Subchorionic Hematomas revealed we are, as suspected, having another beautiful baby boy!!! The kids are all excited - Macy is a bit disappointed it's not a girl, as was I for a while, but seeing as her daily mantra is, "Holden is so, so, SO cute!" she is looking forward to another darling boy in her life. Our regular level II ultrasound was on the 30th and all looks great and the hematomas are now gone! We are now half way there! All in all, things looked good, and these days, we can't ask for anything more! ^_^ Here are some pics of our newest cutie and his home! :)
